


Dating Dadfoot

by WolfyWordWeaver



Series: The Dadfoot Series [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Non-Magical, F/M, Family Feels, Fluff, Found Family, Getting Together, M/M, Slice of Life, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-04-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:15:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23470786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WolfyWordWeaver/pseuds/WolfyWordWeaver
Summary: Remus Lupin has found himself staying involved in the lives of Sirius and Harry and is trying to decide if he's gathered enough courage to ask Sirius to be his boyfriend.
Relationships: Nymphadora Tonks/Charlie Weasley, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Series: The Dadfoot Series [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1607752
Comments: 10
Kudos: 175





	Dating Dadfoot

Remus sighed heavily making Tonks snigger behind her plastic cup full of the sparkly punch. "Damn, Remus, the party has barely started and if this Hot Dad really is the way that you've told me it's not too surprising that he'd be late. I'm sure that he's not going to ditch the whole party."

"You don't think that it was too forward of me to invite him?" Remus was biting his lip, showing a side of himself that only Tonks really knew about since his parents died a couple of years ago. 

"Why're you acting like a Jane Austen dame right now?" she teased while poking him in the ribs. "You weren't too worried about being proper when we were hooking up."

He blushed at her words and rubbed at the back of his neck. "I-I..."

She rose a knowing eyebrow and nudged him with her hip. "It's because you _like_ like him, isn't it." Another involuntary sigh slipped past his lips and this time she outright laughed. "Come on, Remus, it's about time you started dating again! You're not betraying your son by getting with someone else and I honestly don't give a damn. I've been dating Charlie for over a year now for crying out loud!"

"Talking about me?" Charlie laughed as he looked up from the inflatable dragon he was setting up for the squealing children.

"Always!" she chirped back before turning her attention back to her friend. "Come on, you've known him for months! Inviting him to Teddy's birthday party isn't any different than all the other playdates you've had. You know he's into you! You've got to grow a pair and just ask him out!" Andromeda glared over at them and Tonks winced before lowering her tone. "Teddy wouldn't be bothered by it either, so don't you dare use that as an excuse."

"I wasn't going to," Remus muttered over his own plastic cup. He really had no excuse for not asking the man out already - he was just a bloody coward. Dating had never been easy for him and after Teddy came into his life he had just decided it was a sign that he should just give up and focus on being a father. He hadn't ever had chemistry with anyone like he had with Sirius and it was almost frighteningly too perfect. "He's just...too perfect, you know?"

Tonks rolled her eyes. "Yes, because a guy who can't cook to save his life, texts you at all hours about baby stuff, and runs late 90% of the time is the epitome of perfection."

Remus stiffened up a little. "Hey, parenting is a huge learning curve, especially for someone who wasn't ever planning on having children! It wasn't too hard for me since it's literally what I went to school for, but he's-"

"Calm down," she laughed, waving her hand in front of him. "You don't need to defend him, Remus. Just saying, he's perfect to _you_ and you need to do something about it. Quit being pusillanimous."

"Is Remus being a pussy?" Charlie teased as he sidled up to his girlfriend.

"I happen to have one of those, _Charles_ , and I can assure you that Remus doesn't need that to be pusillanimous."

"Nymphadora! Charlie!" Andromeda hissed through clenched teeth. "This is a _child's_ birthday party!"

"Oh, is that him?!" Tonks squealed, completely ignoring her mother. The woman just threw her hands up in aggravation and left to go get the cake.

Remus jerked his head around and completely lit up as he saw Sirius rushing towards the backyard with Harry in his arms. The shorter man was wearing a drop-dead-sexy leather jacket paired with his ripped black jeans and a fuchsia t-shirt while Harry was wearing joggers and a Nirvana long sleeved t-shirt. While it was a sunny April day, the air still held a bit of chill. Not that Remus could feel it with the heat burning in his face.

"Oh, that's totally him," Charlie agreed and Remus sent him and Tonks withering glares.

"Don't say anything. Either of you! I don't need help."

"Sure, sure," Charlie responded with a shrug and a mischievous grin. 

Remus trusted him about as far as he could toss the red-head and that wasn't very far. "Tonks, please keep a leash on your boyfriend."

She shrugged before waggling her eyebrows and Remus decided that keeping Sirius far away from his son's mother and her partner-in-crime was the best course of action. He rushed across the yard and greeted Sirius with a warm side-hug and a kiss to Harry's sticky cheek. Sirius grinned widely at him, the usual pale blush across his sculpted cheeks, but Remus noted that his eyes were a bit red-rimmed.

"I'm glad that you could make it," he whispered with his own blushing smile.

Sirius let his squirming godson down and then stood to better greet Remus with a full-on hug. "Thanks for inviting us," he mumbled against Remus' neck.

Leaning back to look at the gorgeous man again, Remus noted the slight wobble to his lips. "Hey...are you okay?"

"Hmm?" Sirius swallowed thickly and shrugged carelessly although he blinked hard a few times before forcing a laugh and turning back to the party. "Uh, ah, I don't know anyone here."

Deciding to drop it for the moment, he made the rounds of introductions. Tonks gave Sirius a wink and "so good to _finally_ meet you!" before Remus pushed him past to meet a neighbor. A sound from the back door reminded him that Sirius hadn't met Teddy's grandmother yet. 

"Oh, Sirius, this is Teddy's Grandma Andromeda."

Sirius twisted to meet her as she was stepping out with the cake and froze at the name. Her eyebrows shot up and the two of them stared at each other in a mix of horror and surprise. In fact, Andromeda was so shocked that she promptly dropped the cake.

"Mom!" Tonks cried as she rushed forward.

"Uh, ah, I should probably go," Sirius mumbled as he stepped back and Remus felt panicked. 

"What's the matter? Andromeda?"

She shook herself out of her state and grimaced at the sugary mess at the foot of the steps. "Sirius, no need to leave. I've already been informed of your position. You're free to stay. I apologize for being startled."

"It's...fine, sorry, I should go." Sirius seemed even more pale than usual and started looking for Harry. "Sorry, Remus, I just can't...Uh, Harry? We have to go buddy."

"I'm sorry, was it something I said?" Remus pressed, not knowing what else to say to fix whatever had just happened. 

"No, Dadfoot!" Harry cried angrily, as he was already firmly attached to Teddy's side. 

"Look buddy, something came up and we need to go."

"No!" Harry cried angrily again and more people were starting to stare.

"Harry, love," Remus tried, "you and Dadfoot can come and play another time."

"No, no, no!!!" Harry insisted rolling into a full blown tantrum. Teddy started crying, not really understanding what was happening but knowing that it wasn't pleasant. "No, Dadfoot! Not my Daddy!"

"I know that I'm not your fucking dad!" Sirius erupted angrily, his hands trembling and the moisture welling up in his eyes. "Okay?! I'm sorry that you got stuck with me but that's all you've got!"

The outburst shocked Harry into silence for a second before he began wailing. With a deep breath Remus swept Harry up in one arm and firmly grasped Sirius' elbow with his other and dragged the two of them away from the party and over to Sirius' car across the street. He silently shoved Sirius against the passenger door and then proceeded to soothe Harry enough to get him buckled into his car seat. With that accomplished, he held out his hand and Sirius wordlessly dropped the keys into the open palm. He moved to the drivers seat and started up the car before sitting there and waiting for Sirius to decide to come in. It only took another few moments and then they were all driving down the road. Sirius was staring at his hands and the tears were running down his cheeks silently. 

Remus drove around aimlessly until Harry had nodded off and then he pulled up to a nearby park. Turning in his seat, he placed a tentative hand on the back of Sirius' neck. "What happened?"

His friend swallowed thickly. "It's nothing."

"Love, you can't say that was nothing," he tried again. 

That was the last bit of push needed before Sirius crumbled in front of him, sobbing into his hands. 

"I just... _can't_ Remus! I can't! Harry's been sick...and I haven't slept...and...I just...fuck..."

Remus crawled over the center console as best as he could before unbuckling Sirius and maneuvering them awkwardly before they were in a comfortable embrace with Sirius curled in his lap. Sirius was wetly chuckling as Remus wrapped his arms around him before grinning kindly at him. Ink-stained fingers brushed the long ebony hair back in even comforting strokes.

"Parenting is tough, Sirius. It's okay to have bad days and bad weeks."

Sirius sighed tiredly and leaned against the crook of his neck. "I heard the other parents," he whispered. "At that library thing I've been taking Harry to. They just...I mean...maybe he would be better off with someone else."

Remus gaped in horror and grabbed his chin to make those blood-shot grey eyes look into his own. "Sirius Black! You are exactly the person that Harry needs right now! I don't care what stupid people say! They don't know anything!"

Those trembling lips quivered into a smile. "You're too nice, Remus."

"The hell I am," he grumbled, wishing that he could punch certain ignorant people in the face. "You are a fantastic person, Sirius, and Harry will be just fine as long as you keep doing your best."

Feeling the tremors and sobs settling, Remus nuzzled against Sirius' neck and tucked him more comfortably against his chest. Sirius sighed heavily in relief and they sat there quietly for a few minutes. "I'm really sorry about the party," he mumbled. "I didn't mean to ruin it for Teddy."

"Teddy will be fine," Remus mumbled back breathing deeply of the floral shampoo scent. "Can you tell me what that was about, though? With Andromeda?"

Sirius leaned back and gave Remus an uncomfortable grimace. "Well...she's my cousin."

"What?!" he gasped in response. Every conversation about the fucked up and horrible people she had left behind fluttered through his mind.

"Hell, Remus, how many other people do you know named after celestial bodies?"

"Er, that's- It doesn't matter! Um, are you...not speaking because she was disowned?"

Sirius blushed beautifully and Remus had to stop himself from leaning forward and kissing the man silly.

"Actually, I've kind of been disowned too, so I guess that I could. It's just too much right now, yeah? Like, I just wasn't expecting to see any family members and it's been so many years and she looks just like her bitch sister and I felt like I was getting my ass kicked again and-"

Hearing Sirius rant again filled Remus with relief and he pressed their foreheads together causing the other man to cut off and stare at him again with a deepening blush. "You are full of all kinds of surprises, Sirius. From what little I know about your family it's a rather good thing you've been disowned."

"Yeah, I couldn't be openly gay if I was still with them. So like, yeah."

Remus found himself staring down at those lips. He had been holding off for months now, trying to get Sirius and Harry to a point of stability before taking that step forward. But what kind of stability was he expecting from Sirius? The man was barely over twenty and had a whole life planned out before Harry was thrust into his care. Had he even really had a chance to grieve over the loss of his friends? Remus was ashamed that he didn't know. They had been friends for four months and he'd been avoiding talking about the car accident and the friends who died because it had seemed like such a touchy point. 

All that aside, did it mean that they shouldn't even try dating?

"Let's get you boys home," Remus stated kindly. "Is it alright if I drive again?"

Sirius looked away sheepishly. "That's fine. Sorry."

"It's no bother at all," Remus assured him before they shuffled around and got back properly into their seats.

The drive was quiet and Remus couldn't help but feel pretty nervous. Tonks was right in that Sirius was interested in him, so it wasn't exactly that he was scared of being rejected. It was just something new and unknown. He couldn't guarantee that things wouldn't have a terrible fallout and there were children involved this time. Any break up that he and Sirius might have if they started dating would involve two very young boys too. But even as he tried to think about that, he couldn't fathom any reason for him and Sirius to break up. He already knew what a tricky situation he'd be stepping into and it didn't make him care any less for Sirius or scare him away.

Taking a deep breath he reached over the center console and rested his hand softly over Sirius' clenched fist, certain that Sirius hadn't even realized how tense he was. Those grey eyes shot over to his direction in surprise and another blush was burning on his cheeks. Was his heart pounding as hard as Remus' was? The fist unclenched and the hand went palm up, their skin sliding together as their fingers entwined. Sirius went back to looking out the window and Remus focused on his driving, the both of them wearing silly grins.

By the time they made it to the Black house, Harry was awake and disgruntled so Remus got to work preparing a simple craft that could amuse the boy and calm him down. Scooping dried rice and beans into different containers worked wonders and Sirius just watched in awe as his godson sat quietly on the kitchen floor with his lips pursed in concentration and his dark little fingers working the different sized spoons and scoops. While Sirius watched the boy, Remus made a quick call to Nymphadora.

"Hey, Tonks," he greeted when she picked up.

"Is everything okay?" she asked immediately. He could hear the sounds of squealing children in the background so the party was probably still going on. 

"It's...better. Um, you've got all of Teddy's stuff for this week, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, I'm thinking about staying here for a couple of days to help out. Harry's been sick and I don't think that Sirius has been getting any real sleep so I just wanted to help."

"Oh, that sucks," she replied sympathetically. Tonks wasn't really the type to get sick in general but when she did she always stayed at her parents house and let them take care of her and Teddy. "Uh, he doesn't exactly have family does he?"

He bit his lip and shot a glance at Sirius. "Did your mom say anything?"

The background noise had quieted considerably so he assumed that she stepped into the house. "Yeah, I interrogated her. She told me that he came from the side of her family that was really bad."

He winced just thinking that there were people worse than the family Andromeda described growing up with. "That's...pretty awful."

"Yeah. We didn't mean to freak him out and we'd love for him to come by another time. When things settle down."

"I think he'd like that," Remus replied softly. "He's just a bit overwhelmed right now. He's also been getting a hard time from some other parents."

"UGH," Tonks groaned. "People just need to be nice or mind their own damn business."

"I agree," Remus muttered. "They don't know even half of what's he's dealing with."

"Do you need me and Charlie to drop off your car and maybe some clothes?"

"That would be great," he sighed in relief. "You can just grab my overnight bag from the closet and maybe my shoulder bag as well so that I can get some of my plans organized for next week's classes."

"We'll be by later tonight, okay?"

"That's fine. I'll text you his address. Will you tell Teddy how much I love him?"

"Sure thing, Moony. I'll have mom video chat you for the bedtime story."

"That's a great idea, Tonks! I think Harry will like that too."

With that accomplished Remus took another grounding breath and tugged softly on Sirius' jacket to get his attention.

"Hmm?" he muttered, seemingly breaking out of whatever train of thought he had been riding on.

"I've just arranged to have my car dropped off with my overnight bag. Would you mind terribly if I stayed over for a few days and helped out with Harry?"

Sirius looked embarrassed. "It's not...You don't have to do that, Remus."

He rested both hands on Sirius' elbows and gave the man the most encouraging smile he could muster. "I'd like to, Sirius. You don't need to be in this alone. In fact, if you're comfortable with it, I'd really like for you to go out for a couple of hours and I'll take care of dinner and bedtime with Harry."

The pale brow furrowed in confusion. "Out? Where do you want me go?"

"Love," he chuckled, "wherever you want! When was the last time you went out and had some fun? You could go bowling or playing pool, or whatever it is you liked doing before taking in Harry." The shocked look on Sirius' face was priceless. "I'm not joking, either. Harry and I will be fine. You can be out for as long as you'd like. Tomorrow is Sunday so I won't have any classes, but I do have to teach during the week. So go on, do something fun for yourself."

"R-really?" Sirius sputtered, almost looking like he couldn't be convinced that this was an option.

"You can even drink if you want to, although I'd recommend you take a taxi for that. There's only one thing, ah, I'd rather you didn't bring anyone home." He felt his blush deepen on his cheeks and Remus wondered if he was honestly going to be brave enough to choke it out. "Actually, I was hoping that maybe you'd be interested in...me. Uh, us."

This time Sirius didn't look surprised so much as relieved. "You want to get together, Remus? I mean, obviously I'd love that, but I don't want you to feel pressured into it or anything and really it's just great to have you here as a friend and-" He took a deep breath at the amused expression on Remus' face before chuckling. "I was rambling again, wasn't I?"

"Yes," Remus agreed. "But I think it's rather endearing."

"Thanks. Um, yeah. Us. Cool."

The two men stared at each other sheepishly for a few moment before Harry loudly declared that he was hungry. Remus chuckled and shook his head.

"I'll make some dinner, Sirius. You're welcome to stay if you want, but I still think you should go out for a bit." He saw Sirius internally struggle and decided to give another nudge. "I'll cook while I stay here, so if you're worrying about missing my food, don't." Remus threw in a wink for good measure. 

"Okay," Sirius relented before take a deep breath and exhaling slowly. He looked around the space once more and nodded to himself. "Snuffles is in his crate in the garage. I don't know if you want to let him run around in the back yard or whatever, but there's that. Um, I guess I'll go." He pulled out his phone and fiddled with it for a moment before nodding again. "I think I'll use an Uber so that I can get a couple of beers or something. I won't get wasted, okay?"

Remus nodded and pulled Sirius in close for a hug. "Have fun, okay? Come on, Harry, give your Dadfoot a hug."

"Where you going?" Harry asked with a furrow in his brow.

"I'm going out for a bit, okay?"

Both adults held their breath as they waited to see if this was going to cause another meltdown. Harry just stared at them for a minute.

"And Mommy?"

"I'll be staying with you, love," Remus assured him. "We can make some dinner and then Teddy is going to video chat with you a bit before bed. How does that sound?"

The sparkling jade eyes lit up. "Yay! Okay!"

With twin sighs of relief the two men turned to grin at each other before moving into another hug. 

"Have fun," Remus murmured against his neck.

"Will do," Sirius mumbled back in response with a nuzzle to Remus' neck. 

After waving Sirius off, Remus guided Harry back to the kitchen and grinned stupidly as they prepared dinner.

**

The days spent with Sirius and Harry slipped by too quickly for Remus' taste and he found himself getting emotionally down as he packed up his bag. He'd be heading off to teach in a few minutes and after work he'd be going to his own little apartment instead of coming back home. The thought startled him as he stared at the small guest bedroom he had been staying in. There wasn't much personality in the small room besides the half of the room that was cluttered in boxes of excess sporting gear and who-knows-what. It wasn't that he preferred this space to the cozy warmth of his own bedroom, but as he stepped out into the hallway and glanced into the open door of Sirius' bedroom he felt the special warmth bloom in his heart. 

Home is where the heart is, right?

Splayed out on the king-sized mattress was a large and small piece of his heart. It was rather cute that the two raven-haired boys sharing the bed slept precisely the same way, mouths open and limbs splayed out greedily. He loved it. There was a blush burning on his cheeks as he took a few quiet moments to watch them both sleep. How was it possible for his heart to beat so frantically for someone else? It wasn't that he hadn't ever dated anyone else. While he had never lasted long with anyone before, Remus had actually gone through quite the list of partners, male and female. However, there was something different about being with Sirius. They hadn't even kissed yet!

While they had spent several days together they had found an easy camaraderie in puttering about the house and taking care of Harry and Snuffles. There was plenty of hand-holding and enough blushing glances between them that it was obvious they were past the "just friends" stage, but he wondered how things would develop between them now. Would they jump right into bed with each other the next time he came over? How would that even work if he co-slept with Harry? Or would Sirius come over to his apartment for dates? Did he have someone else who could watch Harry while they were together? No, they would probably be going on all dates with Harry in tow. 

Not that he particularly minded, especially as he had walked into this relationship knowing full well what he was getting into. Half the time he would have Teddy too, so they would just have to get used to family dates. It was quite the modern arrangement, two single dads trying to work things out. The thought made him smile. Somehow he felt like they would be able to work things out just fine. Things always seemed so much better when they were together, even holidays. 

Setting his bag down on the carpet, Remus quietly made his way into the master bedroom and softly stroked Sirius' hand to wake him up. When those bleary grey eyes opened he smiled down softly.

"Hey, love. I'm going to be heading off."

"Oh," Sirius murmured as he rubbed at his eyes and glanced over to make sure that Harry hadn't rolled off the bed. "M'kay. Sorry you have to go."

He rolled over and sat up to properly say goodbye and Remus moved to sit next to him on the plush bed. Not the best material for co-sleeping, but as Harry hadn't died from it so far he had refrained from saying anything.

"There's extra food in the fridge and even a couple of meals in the freezer if things get crazy." Hazel eyes glanced up at the dark ceiling as he tried to recall anything else. "Oh, and Snuffles is going to be starting puppy school next week. I wanted to remind you of that. I've got it on my schedule."

"Thanks for volunteering to watch Harry while I do that," Sirius yawned before smiling cutely. "Remus, you've been like a fucking fairy godmother to us hopeless blokes."

Remus shrugged and looked down at his fidgeting hands. "You'll get the hang of this soon, Sirius. You guys will be just fine."

A hand cupped his face and drew those hazel eyes to meet with the grey ones. "Don't sell yourself short, Remus. You're an absolute miracle worker."

Glancing down at those lips chapped from all that mouth breathing, Remus wondered how he had managed to get bit so badly by the love-bug. 

"Do you mind if I...?" He hoped that Sirius would get the hint without him having to spell it all out.

Grinning rather stupidly, Sirius leaned forward and pressed his lips against Remus' with one of his hands coming up to cup the back of his boyfriend's neck. It was just a brief moment together, a little past being chaste, and then over. Their foreheads rested against each others' and Remus chuckled softly.

"Sorry about the morning breath," Sirius murmured. "You taste great. Lemony is not really a taste that I'd think of with toothpaste, but yeah, I totally liked it."

"I'll just have to forgive the mouth breathing and morning breath because the rest of you is so darned attractive," Remus sighed dramatically before pinching lightly at the other's man's ribs. "Text or call if you need anything, okay? And just because. I like your just-because texts and calls too."

Sirius pressed a softer kiss to Remus' lips in response before nodding. "And you can keep sending me those weird meme things. I like those too."

Remus was sure that things were going to work out just fine between them.


End file.
